I found the job posting on the Bank of America website, and I applied through their portal. The application was simple enough with very generic questions. About 1 week later I received a phone call from the Resident Director's Assistant in my town. He invited me to take an aptitude test, referred to as the FIAT test. The test was 55 questions and covered basic math (i.e. divide and multiply simple fractions) and some general economic theory (i.e., if government spending increased, what would you expect to happen to GNP?). All 55 questions were formatted in multiple choice.
After the test was complete I was given some background investigation forms to fill out. It took longer to fill out the forms than to take the test. I returned the completed forms to the RD Assistant and he informed me that I passed the FIAT test. Two days later I received an email link to a personality test (which turned out to include some very standard questions). Not more than 15 minutes after I submitted my results for the personality test I received a call from the RD Assistant. I was asked to come in for an interview with the Resident Director. This is where it got strange.
My interview with the RD lasted for about 6 minutes with him, and about 45 minutes alone with a Financial Advisor. The 6 minutes with the RD was uneventful, and all I did was talk about myself. The 45 minutes with the FA, however, I liked. The guy I was talking to had only been and FA for about 2 years, and was nearing the end of his training program. He seemed to enjoy the job very much, but made no attempt to hide the tough parts. I was able to ask him questions that I wouldn't have felt comfortable asking the Director (work/life balance, flexible schedules, time off, and of course we talked about pay). When I sat back down with the Director he asked me one question only. "Do you still want the job?" I was still there wasn't I? The he said I should call his assistant during the following week to proceed in the process.
I called the following week and said I was ready to proceed in the process. Initially, I was told that hiring would not take place for about 2 months. The following week I was informed that I should be ready to start in 2 weeks. The RD Assistant asked what my salary expectations were and I spat out a number, he countered with a lower number and we settled in the middle. In retrospect, I should have held firm to my original number.